


Sorry Means Nothing

by OneLonelyWriter



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Predictive, Remorse, Serious, What-If, another story for the batch!, time skip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2020-11-08 21:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20842289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OneLonelyWriter/pseuds/OneLonelyWriter
Summary: Dina and Ellie are just trying to live and learn in the apocalypse together, but what happens when a regular supply scavenge goes wrong?Somehow Ellie always ends up being her knight in shining armor.





	1. I'm Sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new trailer just dropped, I'm interested enough, and now I'm here. Enough said:

"-Old age, like living a long life." Ellie galloped along on her horse, following behind Dina who created a path up ahead for her through the snow.

"You? No way. C'mon. You're way too reckless." Dina retorted.

It wasn't wrong exactly, but Ellie groaned in offense, "Look who's talking."

Dina turned slightly to glance at Ellie, "Wha-? You'll probably die from hypothermia for wearing Canvas sneakers in the snow." Of course she'd bring that up.

"I am wearing boots today!"

They sat in silence for a few moments. Ellie watched Dina round the corner of the bushes and quipped to her retreating back, " You know how you're gonna die?"

"Ohh. Lemme guess? You're gonna kill me."

Ellie groaned again at the answer and Dina chuckled at her.

"Let's just get this over with."

"Aww, what happened? I was having fun." Dina mockingly cooed at her. Her horse trotted over the frozen puddle as Ellie followed behind, turning to look at her with her brows raised. She couldn't tell if Ellie was looking at her or not, and even if she did see, probably turned away anyways.

"Yeah, too much fun." Came the short reply from said person.

Dina's smile just widened at the answer though, coming with a teasing response once more: "You're just all mad I ruined your answer."

Ellie didn't respond, opting to dismount her horse and leading it inside of a broken down shed and out of the beating snow. She looked back to see Dina along side her and the trail they had just come from.

They were in a small cabin resort it seemed, with a few overgrown trees but a mostly opened plain as some vegetation was probably dead from the snow. There was a inoperable well covered in even more snow, and small pathways that she could see leading up to the cabin. It was the only one it seems.

Dina watched and pulled her out of her thoughts, noticing Ellie's obvious silence from previously.

"Are you pouting?"

"No." Ellie answered stoically.

Dina didn't seem deterred by this. "You are! The brave and badass Ellie, pouting!" Dina smirked and got closer to Ellie, intently examining her face, "You're adorable."

Ellie shook her head and her and turned away, muttering a small "shut up". Dina would of course always find a way to tease her. Escaping this torture wasn't an option.

It only served to make Dina laugh louder at her as Ellie glanced at her from the corner of her eye, not willing herself to look at Dina, but at what they we're actually suppose to be doing. But maybe she didn't do a good enough job because-

**SNAP!**

A branch broke to the right of them that had them quieting down and pulling out their weapons; Ellie with her knife, Dina with her pistol. They stood back to back from each other, close to their horses that weren't quite tied up yet.

They couldn't see much in the harsh snow with the surrounding wilderness that created too many hiding spots, but minutes passed of nothing; no animals, no birds, no infected, and definitely no people. Ellie cautiously sheathed her knife, but stood on alert.

Dina kept her gun out but no longer stood on guard, ready to blow someone's brains out. She nodded to Ellie, who nodded back, and trudged away from her back through the snow after tying up her and Dina's horse to makeshift posts.

"I don't want to be caught out here any longer than we have to." Ellie warned. Dina wasn't exactly eager to go back out into the snow now. She had just hoped it would be a normal scavenging day with Ellie, but apparently not anymore. This place felt off so she heeded Ellie's advice and went after her.

Ellie sighed. Usually she liked hunting and scavenging with Dina, or anybody in general, but something felt off to her and she didn't like the fact that she didn't know what. Ellie knew Dina feels it too.

It certainly didn't help to calm her nerves when it's winter and she's trapped in inches of snow that cover everywhere on the ground.

Maybe it's just her imagination. Or not.

* * *

Ellie walked up the pathway to the decently sized cabin that they were originally sent out to check. She tried the doorknob and found it frozen shut and probably locked, trying to twist it forcefully a few times.

"Dina, the door is frozen shut. We might have to find another way in." Ellie didn't want to try and force the door open. It could cause a lot of noise and she didn't want infected or people stumbling upon them, especially after that scare only a few minutes ago.

Dina simply nodded and started to walk off, but reluctance was clear on her face. It probably wasn't best to be separated, but it was for the best. Ellie turned and walked the other direction to try and loop the house.

She tried the windows that were around the cabin, and they were all locked tight or too high for her to reach. There was a door to an assumed basement or storage room but that was no way of getting in there, with an obvious lock on chains. Hmm.

Ellie kept going until she reached the back porch of the cabin, where she saw Dina, who seemed to have not have found anything either. "Anything?" She called to Dina anyways.

"No. Everything is locked or frozen. You?"

"Same problem." Ellie walked onto the back porch cautiously and looked at the door there. It didn't seem completely frozen? "Here. Let's try this door."

She gripped the doorknob and gave it an experimental turn. It was locked as well, right, but wasn't frozen solid like the other entrances on the cabin. Ellie looked back to see Dina standing there expectantly. "I'm going to have to bust it open."

As she turned her body to brace against the door, Dina put a hand on her shoulder quickly, "Wait. Can't you like-I don't know- lockpick it? Or something?"

"Do you know how to lockpick?"

"No."

"Me neither." Ellie answered simply. She tried to turn the doorknob again, "Plus, I'm sure parts are still frozen..."

"It'll create a lot of noise."Dina said as she stepped back from Ellie. Her tone tried to turn joking, "Remind me why we were sent out here again."

Ellie braced her shoulder against the door once more, keeping her other hand on the doorknob, "Because they're assholes." She said before ramming it with her shoulder the first time. It didn't give and she tried two more times before it busted open and she stumbled in.

Luckily, Ellie caught herself and Dina rushed inside to give her a helping hand.

The cabin was spacious and wide with high ceilings and a living room right in the middle where they walked in. It was freezing still, and some snow had still managed to get inside, layering itself on the mountains of dust.

On the left, there was a simple table next to the doorway with nothing but a useless decorative bowl on top. On the right, there was a kitchen with clean (or well, clean as can get) dishes on the counter-tops. The cabinets were slightly ajar and no doubt already scavenged through. Couldn't hurt to look though if they were already here.

"Cozy." Dina dryly commented, "But at least we can try and get a fire going." Oh. There was a fireplace. Burnt out logs that looked to have been charred long ago, with snow covered logs next to it.

As Dina started walking towards it, Ellie idly wandered around the living space. "Yeah, good luck with that. But were here to get in and out. I don't want to be trapped by a storm."

Dina and Ellie looked outside simultaneously to the rapidly falling snow. "There's no way were not escaping that. I think we might have to stay here, El." Ellie started to protest, wanting to get in and out as quick as possible, "And I know. But there isn't anything we can do. Just come and sit by the fire with me." Dina smiled.

Ellie tried to resist the temptation of her, but it didn't work. But that doesn't mean she can't complain about it, "What fire? You'll never get that thing going-"

As if on cue, Dina got the fire lit into a small blaze. She cried out in victory and sent a smug grin Ellie's way as she stood mystified. "You were saying?"

"Smart ass." But nonetheless, Ellie sat beside Dina. The fire didn't do much, but at least it was better than nothing.

They assumed there wasn't much to be searched in the cabin, as most of it seemed deserted for a long time. Ellie still wanted to check though, and Dina agreed on the terms that they warm up first.

The cabin before had seemed warm and inviting, but now it carried a small edge to it. A coldness that had Ellie checking behind her periodically. She tried to ignore it, trying to think that it was probably because of that broken branch which had scared her and Dina.

But she knew it wasn't that. She knew it wasn't this cabin that was giving her chills. She knew it wasn't the cold that was really bothering her. She knew it wasn't the blizzard-like snow outside, confining her to this small space. She knew it wasn't the Deja Vu she was feeling, like a fleeting memory that took place years ago. No, that was absurd. Why could she be feeling that?

Why now? At a time and place like this?

Why now? With someone next to her?

Why now? With someone like Dina?

They sat together in silence for a long time, just trying to warm up by the fire. Dina kept sending Ellie glances that she tried to ignore, but it didn't quite work. Eventually she turned just in time to see another glance sent her way by her, snapping a "What?". Dina seemed a bit taken back to be caught and snapped at, as she rubbed the back the her neck and looked away.

Ellie became curious of what make Dina quiet, her own thoughts mercifully quieting down, and waited for her to look back at her and continue. Eventually she did, and Ellie couldn't recognize the look in her eyes, "Can I ask you something?"


	2. For everything

Uh oh... Uh oh. _Uh oh._

What? Has she seen the way she's acting?

Does she know? 

Why?

How?!

"Uh... Yeah?" Ellie answers, swallowing whatever doubts she may have. Dina couldn't possible know what she's thinking about. Right?

Dina grins at her lopsidedly and rubs her neck, making Ellie completely confused, "Do you like the new jacket?"

Ellie blinks at her, staring blankly for a few moments. "Uh.. oh... W-what?"

"The jacket." Dina points down at it for emphasis. And now Ellie can see it's hers. Her old one anyways. The one she had given Dina a few winters ago after she had lost hers and Ellie outgrew it anyways; a gift, she supposes.

But she had never seen Dina where it before, even though she always told Ellie she kept it. Ellie now feels a bit dumb for not noticing her _own_ jacket before.

"Do you like it?" Dina repeats at her, looking at her expectantly.

Ellie looks back, "Yeah. It suits you." She tries a small smile, that comes out genuine.

Dina grins again, "Great!" Then she smirks at her, "It doesn't help that you have such bad taste though."

Ellie grins as well, "Hey! My style is awesome!"

"Sure it is."

"It is. You just can't appreciate great fashion."

Dina scoffs at her playfully, "You wouldn't know real fashion if it hit you in the face."

Ellie raises an eyebrow at her, "Neither do you if you're wearing it."

Dina tries to suppress a smile as she slowly nods her head, "Touche."

They sit together by the fireplace for a bit longer, even as it starts to get darker. Both are too cold to get up and actually try to persuade the other to get up and do their job; both opting to just end up to lean against each other and try to warm up. They never did succeed much with that fire as the tiny blaze from before had extinguished within minutes. 

And apparently Ellie underestimated the usefulness of her old jacket because Dina looks as warm as could goddamn be while she sits her and shivers her ass off in this thin jacket. Dina laughs at her about it openly, of course she does.

They had been in the cabin for a good while, maybe an hour or two out in the freezing cold, when Ellie suggests they get up.

Dina groans and protests every step of the way, "Why though? I'm cold enough and don't want to move around it this snow! It goes up to my shins, Ellie!"

Ellie grabs both their backpacks from the doorway where they had placed them and tosses Dina's to her. She goes around the house, scavenging for anything useful once more while Dina trails behind her, "Yeah well, we gotta. There's nothing here, and while it was a good stay, we're burning daylight and gotta find something."

Dina crosses her arms, "Find what? There's nothing out here! Just snow and... more snow!" She states defiantly.

Ellie just sends her an unimpressed look when she walks past her and to the back door where they entered from. She hesitates opening it, with a hand on the doorknob, turning back to Dina who watches her, "It's not safe to stay here. If we don't find something within a few hours, we can head back." Ellie opens the door and a gush of cold, winter wind makes her shiver.

"If we don't freeze our asses of here first. They'll be picking us out of ice blocks with a hammer and chisel." Dina comments, now going to wrapping her arms around herself for warmth instead of crossing them.

Ellie leads them both out and into the winter storm. The wind had picked up with snow cascading all around them now, with flakes being blown onto everything. Ellie pulls up her hood to try and shield her eyes from the attacking front, and goes around the front to their horses, still hidden inside the small warehouse. They both look over and neigh at the pair.

Ellie mounts her horse after untying it and Dina reluctantly follows suit, "Looks like the weather is picking up. We should've done this long time ago."

Looking into the sky which had snow falling down from it rapidly, Dina replies, "Yeah, we should have. Let's hope we find something quick. Or..." Dina looks conflicted and worried, which makes Ellie worried when she looks back at her.

"Or...?" Ellie inquires.

"We could go back." Dina looks at Ellie with a worried expression, before her eyes narrow and her lips form into a thin line, "No, actually, we should."

"No. We made it this far. No turning back. It was our own selves that got caught up in our own time when we should've been scavenging." Ellie turns back to look at the road, or at least where the road should be, ignoring Dina behind her. She is no doubt glaring at Ellie's back.

"Ellie, it's becoming dangerous out here. By the time we would make it back, it'll be a damn blizzard." Dina sounds exasperated with her.

But within reason, the snow is coming down hard and it had picked up rapidly within only a few minutes. She knows Dina's right, and Dina knows too. But it was by their own foolishness they didn't get something and continue scavenging then moving on. They could have been home by now if they didn't slack off.

"Dina..." Ellie tries.

"Ellie..." Dina tries back.

"We should keep looking. If anything happens, we can go back to the cabin." Ellie gestures back in the direction to the cabin they had only just left. It's out of sight because of the heavy snow, blocking a true visual of it.

"No, we should just head back now. There's nothing out here." Dina trots her horse right next to Ellie, glaring at Ellie as Ellie does so right back.

They were definitely at a stalemate. Both just as stubborn, and both within correct reasoning. Dina wanted to make sure they got home okay, but with nothing to show for it. Ellie wanted to continue looking for something that could help everyone, but risking them staying out.

Dina tries again, walking in front of Ellie's horse and forcing her to stop, "We can try again another day. I know you want to prove yourself of whatever-"

"I'm not trying to prove myself-" Ellie mutters, but gets cut off once more.

"-But we can try another day. When all of this blows over."

"There might not be another day. The storm could ruin things that we could find, or other people could take them." Ellie argues, but stays still on her horse.

Dina sighs obviously at Ellie. She reaches forward quite a bit to grab the reins that are in Ellie's hands and tugs the horse backwards, turning it around. After Ellie figures out what she's doing, she yanks the reins back into her possession, yelling out a "Hey!"

Dina lets her take it back, but pushes her horse to go back from where they came from. Ellie stares at her angrily and stays still for a moment, but Dina knows she'll follow. And eventually, she does. Staying behind her, Ellie begins to protest, "Dina-"

Dina whips her head back, resolved in her argument, "No, Ellie. We can try new paths on the way _back, _okay? But we gotta go _back."_

"...Fine."

There's very obvious disappointment in Ellie's voice, but Dina gives a small smile to herself. She knows Ellie doesn't want to go back empty-handed, ever the overachiever, but she doesn't want to risk the two getting hurt or lost out here.

The snow continues to fall very hard, and doesn't give any signs of letting up anytime soon. It covers everything in sight, to make it the whole world a pure white. She can feel it pelt her and her horse. She can feel the flakes that land on her seep through her thick jacket, and thinks about Ellie with her thin jacket.

She peeks back to looks over her shoulder at Ellie, but she shows no signs of perceptible discomfort. Her head is slightly tilted down (maybe due to the shame or cold, maybe both. Dina doesn't know), and she doesn't appear to be shaking, while her horse keeps an even pace behind her.

Dina looks forward once more when her horse neighs at her, trying to peer at whatever caused it. Her horse speeds up a bit and goes slightly off path and around some bushes, seeming to lead her to something. Ellie follows behind her quickly, made obvious by loud crunching of snow.

In the distance, she can see... "There!" Dina points at something. Ellie comes up next to her and tries to look at whatever it is she sees, "Look!"

As they come closer, they can clearly see it is a very run down house. It has a small playground that sits far away from a giant red-bricked house. Next to it is a broken stable with a crushed in roof, that maybe they shouldn't put their horses in. And farther away is something of another house, as they had seemingly have ran into a neighborhood.

Dina nudged Ellie on her horse, "See? I guess this was an unpredicted compromise. You got to find something, and I got to head back. Sorta..." Dina trails off, then trots forward quickly towards the houses, "Anyways! Let's go check this out!"

Ellie continues to looks at the snow barren neighborhood as a shiver runs down her spine, and not from the cold. "I got a bad feelin' about this." She mutters, to which her horse seems to neigh in agreement while they walk forward after Dina.

But who knows? Maybe they'll find something interesting after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sup? I'm back. So... new chapter! Yeah, this is a thing... Hope you liked it! Plot will actually start happening when I get new chapters out because this is actually trailer stuff! Get ready!  
-OLW out!


	3. I should have

Dina trots into the ruined neighborhood with no hesitation as Ellie hangs back a bit, who is scanning all the types of building and even the playground, checking every corner. The wind blowing snow into them still going strong, blocking quite a bit of visibility.

Dina looks back at Ellie with an amused but slightly apprehensive smirk, "Come on lazy, we can separate and round back so we can get back quicker."

Ellie looks up with concern at the storm, "Okay, fine. But nothing more than a quick sweep. I really wasn't anticipating a storm as big as this. I guess you really weren't kidding when you said it'd be a 'damn blizzard.'"

"I was joking-"

"And you jinxed us." Ellie quips, and Dina looks at her unimpressed. 

"-But fine, we'll only do a quick sweep. I doubt much is in here anyways." As if on cue, the buildings rattle dangerously in the sharp winds, shutters clattering and wind seems to pass straight through the houses like a whistle.

Ellie nods at her, satisfied with the agreement, "Okay. I'll take right, you get left." Dina confirms with her own nod before ushering her horse to the less broken down houses across the way. Ellie watches her until she's about to get off her horse, then trots to the other side.

She slides off her horse, making sure it's blocked by the damaged houses before simply opening the door. She expected it to be frozen shut, but instead it easily opens. She looks back to see Dina already gone inside the houses. So she enters as well.

By the first glance, the house looks completely picked clean. Not even towels or utensils sit out or in the drawers. Covers of damaged mattresses are gone, clothes are gone from the dressers and wardrobes, books or comics are all gone; Ellie usually sees at least a few of these things left behind. But nothing.

The place is completely freezing, and there aren't even any cold-ass logs to light the fireplace, but that's probably not a good idea right now. Instead, she moves her frozen legs and keeps investigating.

She does a double check, noting nothing in this house.

She shrugs and goes back outside of the house, softly closing the door behind her to grab the reins of the horse and lead it to the next door down the street. She idly remembers Tommy once telling her that Wyoming usually gets to about 5 degrees Fahrenheit in the wintertime.

God, that definitely sucks. Why did her and Dina have to be the ones who have to scavenge in below freezing temperature? Ellie wonders as she gets into the next house, which is just as freezing as the outside, doing nothing to warm her chilling bones.

Ellie sees the house just as bare, but humors herself in looking around. Still nothing; not in the kitchen, the bedrooms, closets, bathrooms, garage (which doesn't even have a beaten down car).

She enters the final bedroom and sees a crumpled letter on the floor. Out of boredom and curiosity, she reads it:

_I miss you, Isabella. I'm not sure what this epidemic is but I hope it passes soon. All the communications are out right now, and I wished I could call you or text you, but I'm not allowed. Everybody in the street is being flooded out to quarantine zones, they say. _

_Everybody's freaked out and worried, but the only thing I'm worried about is how you're out of town and I'm here, that you aren't with me. If you read this, nobody might be left for miles. I barely even have enough time to write this._

_I hope you find safety when you come back and bring Jason with you. The military who are here say that any loved ones might not be able to come into the quarantine zone due to concerns, but I'm certain it will be fine. I wanted to give you the location and asked, but they said they were orders not to tell._

_I don't know what to do or say to convince them. And I don't know where you should go. Find anywhere while this passes, not everyone can be evacuated. I hope you safety, but I have to go now. Take this letter and find me._

_Michael_

The paper is yellowed and torn in a few areas, blowing softly in the wind where Ellie isn't holding it. She reads it once more, and feels a small stab of pain in her chest.

Is this how it was when this all started? People merely writing it off as a virus that would pass itself and they could return to their loved ones?

It was never that way for Ellie; she learned from a young age that all her friends would die soon enough, so she didn't get any until Riley was brave enough to approach the aggressive and closed off girl. No wonder her only friend was the firefly leader, Marlene, after Riley-

No, she found someone new: Dina. Who trusts her wholeheartedly with small smirks and amused glances, and constant confessions to make Ellie glance away each time before returning, and the constant stealing of her hoodie- seriously- she already is wearing her last one.

Ellie wonders how she'd be if she lost Dina, who was brave enough (just like Riley, but she feels so wrong trying to compare them) to approach the awkward and reserved sixteen year old. Ellie tried to push her away with snippy comments and excuses to leave, but Dina never cared, always bothering her until Ellie accepted her.

Even after they were friends, and Ellie was still the sarcastic little shit she was, Dina still hung out with her the most. She doesn't remember when Dina stopped being an burden, to only a minor annoyance, to a craved companion.

She's so distracted by her thoughts until something catches her eye, the snow and dust that had clinged itself into everything. There are footprints tracked in the snow, the windows are almost gone of residue snow, spots are just completely clear of dust.

The realization hits Ellie so hard. Someone, or people, have been here.

How could she become so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice something that vital?

Shit.

The first thought in Ellie's head is to investigate further as see whatever assholes she can find, then her thought less than a moment later is more important: Dina.

In a fit of panic, she rushes out of the house to leave her confused horse who still stands post by the house. It neighs at her in possible alarm at it's owners mannerisms before following. She busts into the house that Dina's horse is next to only to see Dina spin around shocked, already raising her gun out of habit, as she stands in the living area.

Dina quickly pushes her gun back down after realizing the intrusion was Ellie, "El, what the hell are you doing? Aren't you suppose to be investigating the other houses?" She asks irritably.

Ellie walks closer to Dina to grab her wrist as she says, "We have to go. Now."

"Why?" Dina asks even if she doesn't resist being pulled out of the house by Ellie.

She leads Dina and the two horses in to the middle of the street to quickly trudge away, still holding Dina as she explains, "People have been here. Or are here."

"What? How- why do you think that? I didn't see anything wrong with my place." Dina shoots her a confused look, and Ellie decides not to doubt her observation skills.

But she also doesn't doubt her own, unwillingly snipping back, "Tracks in the snow inside the house. Pretty good indicator."

"I-" Whatever Dina would scold her for was cut off by a shockingly loud gunshot near their heads, and both whip around to see men shouting at them ("It's them! Shoot them! Get them! Get out here!) as more shots ring out and they waste no more time hopping onto their horses to flee.

They quickly travel out the way they came where nobody seems to be and try to get their bearings as Dina yells, "Where do we go?!"

"Anywhere but here!" Ellie shouts back and takes off into a random direction, off of the path but into the brush, to try and escape whatever bandits may be following them. Dina follows without have time to think about it.

* * *

They continue to push through the storm and vegetation and away from the shouts, both of them rattled at being completely unaware of their surroundings and close to death.

Ellie silently berates herself of being caught of guard, and almost getting her and Dina killed in the process. She knows she should have seen the signs earlier or perhaps shouldn't have been as stubborn and not going with Dina back to Jackson.

The two pass by other streets and are way off course but Ellie keeps going, continuing for at least another twenty minutes until Dina shouts up ahead at Ellie, "Okay. I think we lost them."

Ellie stops after a few seconds, her horse seeming to heavily breathe under her. Their in a secluded area of trees and bushes all around them, with only small clearings of possible walkways and no houses in sight.

Ellie glances over her shoulder at Dina, "We should probably wait a bit, so they get bored if they're trying to track us. There has to be something around here; a shed, at least." Ellie thinks off possible small shelters that there could be around them, and starts walking once more.

"Ooh, a shed?" Dina follows with a grin.

"Stop." Dina's grin doesn't falter even a bit, "And yes, we need shelter from the storm."

"Yeah, but at least the weather's dying down a bit so I'll be easier." Well, the storm definitely wasn't ending anytime soon, but at least they could see ten feet in front of them now. This storm seemed to be one of the worst Wyoming has had for awhile, and they were caught right in the middle of it; lost, alone, and possibly being chased.

"Good and bad for us." Ellie warns.

"Yeah, we don't want them spotting us. Let's go find something quickly then." Dina now takes lead in front of Ellie, going whichever direction they would be going in, walking slowly past the trees and bushes.

Ellie's not so sure what to do now. "We should have gone back." She admits quietly, scolding herself before Dina can, and utters it so quietly she thinks she didn't hear her when Dina doesn't respond.

She does though after a moment,"But we didn't, El." She says as if that was the way things were just suppose to be,"It'll be fine. We'll just tell Tommy and Joel we got lost, which we did." She reasons.

"But-" Ellie tries to starts, to argue back, to say she was acting dumb the entire time, to say she shouldn't just go with her decisions. 

That isn't the way Dina does things, she goes with the flow and makes it out of trouble, approaching everything with optimism, "But we're lost, and it sucks, and we possibly have psycho maniacs after us-"

"Optimist." Okay, maybe Dina wasn't so bright all the time.

"Another but, we'll make it back. It's probably only a few miles and we mostly did a straight shot. We'll go this way", Dina indicated with her finger in the direction they were going, "Find shelter and stay for a bit when everything passes and dies down, then come back into this clearing and go back the way we came. Good enough for you?" Dina looks back with a shrug.

Ellie still doesn't seem fully with it, but agrees with the plan nonetheless, "Yeah. If it's the only chance we have."

Dina throws her a smile, "Then it's settled. Let's go." And goes a bit faster on her horse to lead once more.

* * *

It's quiet, Ellie thinks only a few minutes into the complete silence. Neither of them feel like joking, and Dina has glanced back at Ellie numerous times, only to give her a (seemingly forced) smile whenever she looks up to catch her eye. She always smiles back, but hers is admittedly forces, and then Dina's gaze turns sympathetic instead of amused.

After awhile, Ellie stopped looking up at Dina when she'd continue to turn back.

They've only been out her a few hours and this whole situation has turned out horribly. A normal routine of scavenging has made them lost in a blizzard with a temperature of cold-as-my-frozen-ass. How the hell did that happen?

The silence and blizzard and being chased by people reminds Ellie of when she was-

No. Don't think about that. That winter has come and has been gone a long time, but she can't help it. Her mind always has a sliver of this memory always present in her mind during winter, and she doesn't think it will ever go away.

At least nobody will get captured this time, right?

They probably only walk for about five minutes longer until their out and reach another clearing on top of a hill. Dina stops and Ellie trots up to her onto a moment later when Dina clings onto her the sleeve of her jacket, "Ellie, look!" Dina points in a certain direction, easily visible now that the storm had cleared, and there it is, what they've been looking for this whole time: the intact supermarket.

Ellie wants to light up just like Dina does at the find, but she can't, not after today as her own thoughts plaque her. But at least there's hope. So instead she turns to Dina with a grin, "Finally. We can rub it in everyone's faces that we hit the jackpot."

Dina laughs, and Ellie's grin turns into a more true one, "Then what are we waiting for?"

And with that, Dina runs down the hill with Ellie chasing after her, ready for a new adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look at that! A new chapter! Well, be ready for the next few because stuff gets interesting and intense. Are you ready? I'm not ready. Happy readings!  
-OLW


	4. Told you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Sorry if this chapters a bit... everywhere. I wasn't too sure of where I was going with this, but I tried my best.

Racing down the hill together, Dina suddenly stops her horse and causes Ellie to slow down as well and almost get bucked off by her horse.

Ellie, trying to regain her balance at the sudden stop, readjusts her bag and asks Dina, "Why'd you stop?"

"Look, we can't get through. All the wildlife is blocking the entrance." Dina points farther down the hill where trees and vines overgrew the sides of the building, winding up and through all the visible windows and doors, blocking them off.

Ellie scans the side of the building with a small pout, before looking up, "Can we go up there?" Ellie guided Dina's still pointed hand over to a wall having been pushed threw by more wildlife, above the chaos of the shrubbery.

Dina lowers her hand, and starts to trot her horse down the hill, "Yeah, probably. You ready for a climb?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"If you want to chance the Forest of No Return." Ellie glances out into the jungle-like shrubbery just seeming to crowd around the front entrance.

"I think I'll pass."

"Come on, time's wasting and were still in the storm."

"Right behind you."

They trek their horses and hitch them to a snowy tree on the outskirts of the supermarket just in case they find trouble but hidden from other passersby.

Dina dares herself to go first and starts climbing up the trees and vines to get to the small opening above the large building. She slips a few times from the freezing vines that appear to be frozen to the side of the building.

Ellie follows a bit slower-paced after her, making sure to be able to catch Dina if she falls and not particularly wanting to take a plummet herself.

"Enjoying the view?" Dina's teasing voice reaches down to her.

"Hmm?"

"Enjoying the view? It's a great one, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Ellie says absentmindedly, still looking below her into the shrubbery that makes up something like a jungle, before snapping her mouth shut when she realizes what Dina means. "Wait, that's not what I was look-"

Dina cuts her off with uproarious laughter, soon turning a bit subdued when she realizes again where they were.

"If you say so, El." Dina teases, reaching the top of the vines.

"Just get through." She pushes Dina playfully through the gap having made it to the top as well.

Ellie looks around where they have seemed to have gotten into a sort of storage or office room with a few desks pressed neatly against the walls watching the doors. There's barely any snow in the building, but still just as fucking cold.

Right in front of them is a door with two parallel glass panes Dina is inspecting and peering into. Dina turns back to Ellie, pulling out a mask that was safely tucked on the side of her bag, saying quietly, "Spores. Masks on."

Ellie obliges and pulls out her mask, continuously rearranging it to make sure its properly set while Dina just slides it on. Walking up next to Dina, she stops Ellie with a gentle hand on her arm causing her to look at her.

Dina says, deathly serious, "Remember: I don't want to have to shoot you in the face."

Ellie tilts her head in a nod, turning the doorknob to push the door open, muttering back to Dina unamused, "Aww, that's so sweet." Ellie receives a short nod.

They're met with more collapsed walls and a door leading to another storage room on the left, filled with empty shelves and racks. Ellie enters the room with her pistol drawn, heading over to a desk with useful spare parts and nothing else but pictures and empty file cabinets.

She can barely see anything through the spores and turns back to Dina with a warning, "All these spores means they've been here for awhile. Keep your eyes peeled for older infected."

"Yep." Is all Dina says, watching Ellie and looking over the room. She seems confused of the normal setting of the building, asking Ellie who hasn't seemed to have found anything else, "Is this part of the supermarket?"

All Ellie can do is give her a shrug, walking back out of the room with Dina following, "I don't know. I think we're above it."

"Let's get to the ground floor." Dina says, unnerved.

Ellie nods, leading them towards a large gap in the wall they hadn't seen because the door was in the way. Ellie pushes the door they had exited close, sliding herself through the gap into a break room.

There is covered and mossed-over tables, a counter with nothing on it but a broken microwave, empty cabinets above it, an empty pantry lining the side of the wall. There are small recliners and a rack of coats which they don't spend too much time investigating when their attention is caught by another gap in the wall.

Ellie glances inside to see what appears to be a untouched bathroom. She pushes into the smaller gap, stepping onto the neat tiles.

She doesn't have long to inspect it when-

_SNAP_

The tiles under her shake and give away, slowly breaking in with Ellie's weight on top.

"Ellie!" Dina cries, Ellie reaching back and Dina grabbing her wrist.

She tries to pull Ellie back but the tiles instantly give away with the removed weight and Ellie falls through, along with Dina who got dragged along, a piece of tile falling straight on Ellie, knocking the wind out of her and keeping her pinned.

Dina turns back to try and help Ellie push the piece of tile of her as she gasps, until they both hear a click.

Dina instantly lets go of the tile and draws her gun, pointing it to the sound of the clicker.

They both look to the sound and Ellie sees that they had landed into what seems to be a deserted store. Empty racks and shelves, boarded up doors and windows; only home to clicker searching for them.

It emerges slowly from the spores as Dina leans back into Ellie, with her gun swaying in time with the searching clicker.

Ellie holds her breath, before letting out a tiny gasp from her abused lungs, which the clicker seemed to have heard with clarity as it suddenly screeches and rushes at Dina and her.

With a quick finger, Dina pulls the trigger and lets a bullet hit the clicker to make it stagger back, only for it to rush at them once more a moment later with an extra bullet to take it down.

They hear more shrill screeches of the damned things, Dina acting fast to turn back and help Ellie free herself from the tile once more. She slides out from under it with Dina grabbing her arm and pulling her behind a rack when screeches of clickers get closer.

Ellie grasps her middle, pulling out her gun with Dina, whispering in annoyance, "Shit. Fucking clickers."

Dina lets out a breathless, "Here we go."

Ellie peers around the small rack Dina had put them behind, listening intently and seeing only two clickers.

She creeps out from behind it, pulling out her old trusty switchblade and goes straight forward for the first one. Crawling until she's about a foot away from it, Ellie pounces up and stabs her knife cleanly into the neck of the screeching clicker, holding it in place with a headlock.

She drops it gently to the floor, going behind another rack to flank behind the other clicker going to investigate their fallen comrade, and crawls along to the other side to emerge behind the clicker.

Ellie pounces up once more, and drags her knife into their neck, repeating the process. She dumps their body onto the ground, cleaning and putting away her bloodied knife. Ellie stretches out from her crouch, remarking in a normal tone, "Those blind motherfuckers make my skin crawl."

Dina isn't so inclined to rest easily, warning Ellie from behind, "Let's make sure the rest of the building's cleared out and then get the fuck outta here." Dina passes by Ellie, heading over to the front door of the pharmacy to wait for her.

"Speaking my language." Ellie pushes past the dead clicker and does a once-over of the pharmacy they literally dropped into. She scans the racks which hold nothing on them, going over to the large pharmacy counter to check behind it.

There isn't anything but a note she picks up on top of an open safe, reading:

_For a shortage during shifts, try opening the safe for stocking._

_The combination is 12-34-_ _7_

Ellie puts the letter back on top of the safe, looking inside to find it empty and already raided, she can't help but mutter, "Bastards."

She peeks back up to see Dina still waiting, now crouched down and peeking through the door. Her behavior has Ellie on edge as she goes over to Dina, now back to being crouched down.

Dina points through the small window of the door, "Look. Those hunters are here, too."

Ellie looks through to see where Dina's pointing, seeing the hunters wandering around the large store with their own gas masks hanging off their faces, "Shit. Can't catch a fucking break." She whispers and leans back down, pulling out her knife.

"There's onto three of them I think. We can take them." Dina says confidently.

"Dina..." Ellie tries to warn.

"There's nowhere else, Ellie." Dina raises her voice to point out, before instantly lowering it to a reassurance, "Come on. We can do it." Dina doesn't give her time to respond as she slowly opens the door, and goes quickly behind the first empty store shelf.

They seem to finally have gotten into the expansive supermarket, with a bunch of counters and shelves with walkways and aisles. There don't appear to be anything, cleared out just like the pharmacy, but has a feeling something might be hiding in here.

Ellie creeps around shelves to try and flank one of the hunters, Dina going to other way for the other one. She pulls out er trusty knife, getting closer and closer to his turned back until she suddenly stops.

On his back holds the dead symbol of Firefly military.

Oh shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Why are they here?

How are they still alive?

That can't be-

Dina must've completed her action when there is a sudden cry of pain as a shiv is shoved into the "hunter's" neck, the man Ellie was trying to take out suddenly turning to the sound with his gun drawn.

Ellie pounces on his back to drive her knife into his head, struck with a sudden horror.

The final "hunter", a woman this time, turns and sees them. She pulls out her radio ("Wolf and Hawk are down! Wolf and Hawk are down! Back-up requested!) to signal her friends and raised her gun to Dina, only to be shot dead by Ellie's sharp shoot.

They hear clamoring voices from ajar shop doors across the market and ruckus above them, "hunters" chasing them down from the ground floor shops and others taking aim from the railings above.

Ellie rushes behind a shelf, finding cover and blind firing when she can where she sometimes hears cries of fallen "hunters" ("Fox! Crow!") and the constant shooting of them trying to hit her ("You won't get away with this!").

Looking over to Dina, she sees that she isn't doing any better. They're both pinned down by the sudden overwhelming number of "hunters". It's honestly a wonder how they didn't hear them in the pharmacy and wasn't in there.

There's screeching and yelling in an instant that causes everyone to startle, Dina and Ellie meet each other gaze before looking to the front door of the store.

Outside, there's a small horde of runners, stalkers, and clickers lining up against the glass doors and windows.

They rush to the front glass door of the supermarket, trying to pry it open and crawl through but they can't without getting blocked by the wildlife outside or getting cut by the broken glass of the door.

But they continue trying. They continue rushing.

They keep bashing into the already broken glass door and glass windows, everyone hearing the deafening cracks of it giving way. The "hunters" ignore them for now, turning their guns on the front of the store and waste their ammo on trying to exterminate them when new ones just suddenly appear in place of the old ones.

With the "hunters'" focus on the Dina rushes back into the pharmacy with Ellie hot on her heels, an unspoken agreement as they peer into the hole they had collapsed through.

Dina climbs onto Ellie's hands, then her shoulder and heaves herself onto the second floor once more, reaching a hand down for Ellie when-

_CRASH_

The doors burst open and horrible screeching of clickers and the pained yells of runners fill the air as they hear them instantly near on their position. There are shouts from the "hunters" as the infected attack them, gun shots ringing out and more shouts to retreat or to go after them.

"Ellie!" Dina calls down to the frozen girl, waving her hand impatiently for her to grab.

Ellie startles out of her stupor, grabbing Dina's hand and starting to pull herself up when suddenly something grabs her leg to pull her down.She looks down to see a runner opening their jaws to bite down onto the boot.

Getting closer and closer until-

The hand on Ellie's shoulder lets go and a perfect bullet is sent through the eyes of the infected.

Ellie is grabbed once more, pulling her up and both of them falling onto the bathroom floor when two runners and a clicker rush into the room, screeching and yelling at them.

Dina and Ellie barely look at each other before pushing each other through the gap back into the break room and then into the storage room once more to head outside without looking back.

They hear the "hunters" continuing to call out to comrades, gunshots, infected attacking them and screeching even so far away.

Dina peeks her head out the opening gap, looking that the small horde is still occupied by the gunfire coming from the "hunters" still inside.

Dina turns back to Ellie, faltering for a second seeing the absolutely panicked look on her face, "Come on, Ellie. We gotta go."

It seems they are in the clear as Dina starts climbing down with Ellie going out as well and just jumping onto the ground to follow after her.

They rush into the growth of the shrubbery to make it to their horses, trying to avoid the stragglers from the horde or the horses of the "hunters".

"Those weren't normal hunters, Dina." Ellie tells her when they are pulling their horses away from the growth, trying to loop around to the other side of the building instead of going back the way they came.

"I know." Dina grimly tells Ellie.

Ellie looks a bit stunned at Dina, stopping for half a second, "You know them?"

"No, but you seem to know." Dina pulls Ellie forward, making sure to keep her hands on her reins.

"I- I do. I think." Ellie admits.

"We can talk about it while we get the fuck out of here."

Ellie nods at Dina, though she isn't so sure she'll actually talk about it. She'll have to tell Joel though.

Joel.

What is he going to think?

She remembers the falling out she had with him about the Fireflies.

And now that they're back-

Ellie is saddling up her horse, ready to jump on when she's distracted by the sudden deep inhale of Dina and looks up to see Dina staring in horror at her, raising a shaking finger to her, whispering:

"Ellie... Your mask."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I'm certain most of this shit is wrong but what do I know? I'm just trying to fill in the gaps to probably not even a tenth of a told story of what they have in the trailers.  
Bare with me, I have more of an intense and maybe closer to canon plot? I don't know what they're doing
> 
> Okay, sorry for the long notes. I have better ideas of where this goes afterwards (I hope), just have to get it started first.
> 
> If you have an idea of what is something better I could add to seem more plausible, tell me.  
-OLW out!


	5. But now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Important notes at the bottom which I hope you'll read.  
Be sure to tell me what you think and what I could improve on.  
And more importantly, enjoy the chapter and the story:

By the sound of Dina's trembling voice and shaking hand pointed at her, Ellie reaches up to rip off her protective mask.

And she's right. It is cracked.

A large crack down the center of the glass in the mask, almost splitting it into two, while the filter cartridge is bent to the side. Ellie is surprised it even stayed on, looking at the well worn straps attached to it.

She looks back up to meet Dina's gaze only to find her looking away from her, down to the floor and toeing her boot to dig into the snow. Dina looks so distraught. The ever confident and nonchalant Dina effected by something as mundane as Ellie?

Ellie has to tell her. But how? Nobody but Ellie, Joel, and Tommy (along with Maria, "package deal", she remembers Tommy saying) know about her "condition". Ellie was forbidden from telling Dina, and now-

How the fuck is she even going to begin explaining this?

Ellie puts the mask into her horse's pouch, to try to reach out to Dina, trying to explain, "Dina, it isn't-"

Dina moves away from Ellie's searching hand, turning her back on her. She sounds hurt as she says, "Isn't what? What it looks like-"

"-I'll be okay-" Ellie continues trying.

"Bullshit! We all know what happens, Ellie! Just-"

"Dina, I won't-"

Dina stays silent for a few moments. Not moving, not looking, not speaking.

Ellie isn't sure what to do, so she doesn't say anything either. Just waits, like the coward she is, unknowing what to say.

So instead she's ready to walk forward and try to console Dina again. But before she can even get a step in, Dina speaks in such a small voice. It's barely above a whisper that tugs at Ellie's heart, silently (and possibly very loudly later) cursing herself.

Dina looks over her shoulder with such hurt in her eyes, glossy with beginning tears, "...Why did it have to be you?"

Ellie steps forward, hands outstretched, "Dina, look. Listen. I'll tell you everything, I promise."

Dina looks away once more from her, "Please... don't lie to me, Ellie."

"I'm not. I- I swear."

"Ellie..." Dina warns.

But Ellie begs, "Please believe me. I want to tell you everything. I will tell you everything! But first-"

**CRACK!**

Ellie and Dina twist around at the sound of a gunshot hitting the tree right next to them, shaking the snow from it, coming from the front of the mall. From their arguing, the infected have been all wiped out and taken care of, with the "hunters" coming out from the broken glass and breaking through the foliage only to spot them through the harsh snow flaking down on them.

"We have to get outta here!" Ellie grabs her wrist and starts hauling Dina on to their horses with a forceful push, Dina to shocked to push Ellie's help away.

Ellie hops onto her own horse right as the shouts start coming after them once more ("They're still alive?" "Get them!" "Shoot! Shoot!") and spurs her horse harshly to force it to follow the already racing Dina.

Dina turns her horse around to make them go back from where they had emerged from, away from the mall and allowing them to not have to pass them, the horses deftly dodging the shots at their feet, with Dina and Ellie ducking with every too close shot that rattles them.

Ellie can still hear the "hunters" following them by a small distance, hearing their continuous shouting ("Follow them!" "Up! Go!"), and Ellie whips out her pistol from her holster and points it behind her at the thunderous sounds of hooves and feet behind them.

She takes a few warning shots even if she knows they'll miss any body, and shouts to Dina over the horses hooves and her continuous shots, "These guys really don't know when to quit!" Dina is concentrated on finding the best path for them to, you know... not get killed by assholes.

Dina glances back to her, shouting, "Why are they all here?! Why have we run into so many people?"

"I don't know!" A loud shot hits the tree next to Ellie that makes her jump and fire another three back at whatever, all of them hitting nothing. The "hunters" do fall back a bit and more out of sight as Dina and Ellie continue to twist and turn through the brush.

"How many are there?" Ellie looks back for a moment, still hearing the commotion behind them. It sounds like there's less following, but still plenty wanting to kill them.

"I don't know!" Ellie replies.

"Where do we go?! We can't shake these assholes!" Dina looks behind her and Ellie, listening to the still "hunters" following them once more, growing closer once again by the minute, "Should we head back to Jackson?"

Ellie holsters her gun, urging her horse a bit faster to be right behind Dina, "Yeah! Hopefully there's only a few that'll be shot down at the gates!"

Dina very suddenly pulls her horse one way, making it rear up then continue to the path Dina pulled it into, "This way!" Ellie very nearly runs her own horse into them, before changing directions with a more graceful tug and following her lead.

Ellie doesn't recognize the path, just following Dina who seems to be making strange sharp turns and cutting through untreaded paths, before Ellie sees a main road that the two jump onto. Ellie realizes Dina is trying to unsuccessfully chase off and confuse the "hunters", but it doesn't seem to be working as they continue following.

Still loud, still coming, still shooting. Still very much trying to kill them.

And getting close to be successful as another shot bounces off the road right behind Ellie and makes her horse whinnie and protest at her. At times, it's quiet and it seems they stopped following, until they go onto a main path and hear them still coming. It's unusual.

Once they jump back onto the main road, a final stretch to Jackson by now, a shot rings out and Ellie expects it to miss like all the rest.

At least, until she hears a cry and a sound of triumph ("I got her!").

Ellie whips her head to the side to see Dina freely bleeding from her shoulder, the arm hanging and the other hand loosely on the reins, blood splattering down and onto her clothes and onto the road. Ellie pulls her pistol out once more to take a blind shot, "Shit! Dina!"

Dina looks over to her, and grabs the reins with her bad arm once more, protesting, "I'm fine! Keep going! We gotta make it back!"

"But-" Ellie stops and looks down at the freely flowing bloody down Dina's arm, and filled with a new determination, pushes her horse in front of Dina's to lead the way back, "Let's hurry then!"

The shots still ring out behind them, with Ellie periodically turning around and shooting clips into the "hunters" behind them, often rewarded with a cry of death and another "hunter" easily taking the fallen comrades place with more exclamations at them ("I'll kill you!" "Raven! Cat! Owl!" "Shoot them! Get them!").

Dina and Ellie try their best to avoid getting more injured, just trying to get to the gates of Jackson until suddenly, the "hunters" stop and veer into a new direction away from the two. They both slow their horses and stare behind them in confusion.

They wave it off quickly and go the final mile to Jackson, ready to get home and get this shit over with.

The way they veered off and just stopped following them definitely didn't make sense to them, especially Ellie.

Where did they go? Why are they here?

All she wants to do is make it back to Jackson in one piece, help Dina with her shoulder, and go talk to Joel.

He needs to know about this. As much as Ellie resented what he did, lying and covering it up, he still would understand and know what to do.

She hoped he knew what to do. He needed to know at least.

Ellie's tried so hard to keep her secret under wraps for so long and now that the Fireflies- the fucking Fireflies- are back... what do they want?

Do they want her?

"Ellie!" Dina yells to her, startling her out of her thoughts and looking to see Dina as close as she could get to her on her horse. She is cradling her bad arm with the other, looking worried, but not for her, "Look." Dina points a bloodied hand to the right of them.

It's Jackson, finally. But-

There's smoke, suffocating and covering the entire sky.

As they near, they see the gates of Jackson blown open with whatever explosives were used, and "hunters"- no, the Fireflies- guarding the opened entrance, to shoot whatever infected might get in and whatever citizens might get out.

Ellie and Dina jump off their horses in a instant and leave them in the brush a bit of the way away from the entrance. They sneak through the tall grass and lean against a log right in front of the entrance, carefully avoiding the guards that get to close and moving around the perimeter of where the guards are set.

They continue searching but there's no way through the obvious door without getting the Fireflies getting alerted and them getting killed.

Ellie looks over the log they're hiding behind, as Dina whispers, "What the fuck? Are those the people who were following us?"

Ellie settles back down into the tall grass that brush everywhere against her, shaking her head in frustration, "Dammit. That's why they veered off. They were coming to Jackson anyways."

Dina now peers discreetly over the log as well, "Those assholes are guarding the giant fucking hole! How do we get in?"

Ellie shakes her head again, and for some reason, remembers all those times she snuck past the guards in the quarantine zones. They were always horrible guards but could easily catch her trying to sneak out through the main entrance.

The only reason she started successfully escaping was when Riley lead her through secret passages. And now-

Wait. Ellie perks up, peeking over the log again with Dina and looks off to the side of the entrance.

"Where we get out." Ellie's idea forms in her head, before Dina gives a confused "What?"

"Apparently our horrible rule breaking habits have come in handy." Ellie jokingly, and semi-seriously, tells Dina.

Dina is still confused. "...What?"

"Remember when we used to sneak out? Be dumbasses with Jesse and the group?"

Ellie recalls those adventure, how Joel and Tommy always got pissed at her the next day, but it never stopped her. She stopped going after awhile though after Dina and her became great friends and just opted to stay with her instead.

"The tunnels?... The tunnels!" Dina voice raises a fraction, before her eyes widen and she lowers her voice once again to a whisper, "Okay. Let's go."

Dina starts crawling away, before looking back to Ellie, looking far into the distance into Jackson. She raises a brow.

"Well, what're we waiting for? An invite from the murders? Let's go."

Ellie looks over and nods, now starting to follow her.

She really hopes Joel is okay.

Dina and Ellie easily are able to slip into the dark and admittedly gross abandoned tunnel at the side of the wall, very luckily unguarded, which leads into the equally abandoned supply room.

The tunnel is dark and they have no light to guide the way, but luckily Dina has trekked and cleared the path enough times to be able to make it without any difficulties. The supply room is dusty but luckily untouched as Ellie gently pushes the door open when they're sure no guards are there to make their way through the streets.

They avoid a few Fireflies easily, too busy shooting down other civilians in the streets, before rushing off to find another victim. This side of Jackson seems mostly untouched, prompting Ellie and Dina go to the center of the town.

And there, after only running through a few snowy blocks, they both stop at the scene in horror.

The whole of Jackson is going up in flames.

Every other building is engulfed in flames, glass and doors and broken in, there's dead bodies and blood splattered everywhere on the grass and dirt and asphalt. So much blood soaks melds perfectly into the melting snow. There's close and distant screaming with accompanied gunshots.

There's so much smoke that it covers everything in ash and soot, the sky looking dark and threatening, blocking any sun and replacing the beautiful snowflakes with black.

It feels unreal and unlike anything else Ellie has ever seen. And all of this-

because of her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You think I'm doing the actual storyline now? Nah, nah, nah, nope. This is my story and my AU now, these leaks and trailers will be disregarded unless I want to use it. While quite a bit will be used from the story (or what I suppose it is), it's for my own personal use and not as a predictive canon storyline like it was suppose to be.  
This is my own direction and what I think should've happened.  
Comment about what you think of this story and what you think of the leaks if you saw them (and if you didn't, please don't) because now I am extremely interested what you people have to say.  
I'm continuing this story just to hopefully make something better if that is the true storyline, so support if you do like where my story is going, even if it isn't canon. I really do appreciate your voices.  
Sorry for the long notes and short chapter, but something needed to be put up and I will try very hard to get this story out much faster now just to give some satisfaction.  
-OLW peace!


End file.
